The Man In The Blue Box And Me
by Child Of Old
Summary: Katy thought she had a normal life. She has her house which she shares with her best friend, her own job, you know, normal. Until a man with a blue box turns up and proclaims he knows her and, not only that, they are destined to save the world together. And whilst she's busy running away from (mostly slimy) stuff , she realizes there is something else he's keeping from her...


With a yell of frustration, I spun around on my chair and flung my pencil at the wall in a fit of anger. The book in front of me was full of more crossings out and scribbles then actual words, and the words that remained were still hopelessly weak and still, after over three and a half hours of non-stop concentration, they were still _not right_.

I stared at where the pencil lay dejectedly on my carpet, not really seeing it and only actually seeing the page worth of crossings out and scribbles and then, finally, a big fat red 'X' that would inevitably be placed at the bottom of it if I eventually handed that into my professor. What the hell was wrong with me? I dropped my head into my hands with a hopeless thump, and shook my head like I couldn't believe it. I wasn't usually this bad at writing! And our assignment had been a simple one as well. So why was I getting it _so wrong_?

"_Think about what inspires you_." My professor had insisted with gentle patience when I'd gone to him a week later with my assignment still not completed. "_This is a story to show me what inspires _you_. So what does inspire you?"_

Nothing. I sighed. A big fat nothing inspired me. I'd lived in the same place my entire life, never gone on any great adventures unless you counted going on holiday to Egypt and spending the whole time swanning around an All Inclusive hotel (not that I had minded much at all).

But now, when it came to something that _really _inspired me, I had nothing that wasn't a complete copy off somebody else. I was well and truly stuck.

Just as I was mourning the loss of what I had believed to be a writing talent, there was a big fat thump on my door and my room-mate hollered from where she was thumping down the landing.

"I hate to interrupt whatever genius you're conducting in there," She started, not sounding particularly sorry at all. "But may I remind you that we have work around about now?"

I reluctantly dragged my eyes from the pencil to stare uncomprehendingly at the clock on my wall.

"_Shit_!" I yelled, jumping up and brushing the scribbled on pad of paper to one side in my haste to get moving.

"Thats what I thought you'd say." My room-mate, Catherine, sounded smug and I could hear her high-tailing it down the stairs. "And could you bring down my shoe once you're done panicking? I threw it at your door."

I ran around my room in a sort of headless chicken kind of way, ignoring her, shouting curse words as I did so.

"Shit!" I repeated again and again at the top of my voice. "Shit, shit, shit!"

Pulling on my boots and wrapping my scarf around my neck and looking (rather hysterically and loudly, I thought) around in panic for my work badge.

"Catherine, have you seen my badge?" I yelled, running out onto the landing to lean dangerously over the banister to try and see her.

"Nope." She appeared in the hallway, looking rather dainty and pixie like with her white blonde hair left loose and her scarf and hat taking up most her her face. She had to pull down her scarf to even speak to me, and I saw the evil grin slip along her face. I couldn't killed her. I knew exactly what was coming. "But I'll let Alan know you'll be late and, yes, you'd be _more _then happy to do a later shift."

"Catherine, you _dare_..." I started threatening, but she'd already wiggles her fingers at me and glibly danced out the door.

"Shit!" I swore again.

-0-

Having found my badge (stuffed into the pillow case we'd put into the wash last night) and wrapped up warm for the chilly autumn morning air, I was finally managing to close and lock the door on the house and trudge down the gravelly path. The story assignment still weighed heavily on my mind, as did my excessive lateness and undoubted either firing and lecture. I grumbled about this as I struggled to free my dark, thick hair from beneath my scarf, muttering death threats to anything and anybody that I could think of.

"Hello!"

To my credit, I didn't scream. I sort of blinked at this man who had suddenly appeared in front of me, grinning from ear to ear, his long black coat flying in the cold morning air. When I did nothing but blink at him, his smile dimmed a bit.

"Hello!" He repeated with a bit more emphasis.

I pursed my lips, debating whether to reply to him or rudely shove past him and continue to hurry to work. He did look oddly familiar. Maybe I had met him once at a party somewhere and didn't remember?

"Hi." I finally said, my breath showing up in the frosty air.

The man's smile returned to a big beaming grin and he rubbed his hands together gleefully.

"Wow, it's cold, isn't it?" He said, still with that same smile. "I'm sure you'd like to get out of this cold." 

I stared at him for a minute, raising my eyebrows.

"No." I gave him a tiny half smile. "I actually like the cold. Though it hasn't been warm for a long time, has it?" 

The man shrugged, shoving his hands deep into his pockets.

"I wouldn't know. Been out of the country..., well, been out of the _world_, for some time really. I don't really know how long I've been gone."

I now frowned at him, completely confused and befuddled. And though his words confused me, his entire face and body and _being _seemed to relax me. I felt comfortable around him, my eyes straying back to the warm brown in his eyes. Like melted chocolate.

"Um, okay then." I said instead to him, crossing my arms over my chest to keep the cold out. We stood in silence for a minute whilst he stared intently at my face, seeming to take in every detail. It unnerved me. It frightened me.

"Well, I've got to get going." I finally said. "I've got work so..."

"Work?" He suddenly exclaimed in confusion.

I nodded, trying to ignore his oddities.

"Yes, work. You see, I'm already late and if I'm any later I'll get fired—"

Suddenly, he bounced forward and caught my hand in his, holding it tightly and pulling me towards him. I yelped as I stumbled over the gravel and his arm came up and around my waist to hold me flush against him.

"What the fuck do you think you're doing?" I yelled as I struggled against him, hoping to pull away or at least for somebody to hear my yells. "Let go of me, you complete insane buffoon!"

When I looked up at him to glare at him, I saw he still had that manic grin on his face. He continued to grin, holding me close and shaking his head.

"You're _brilliant_." He exclaimed.

I kicked him, forcing him to abruptly release me.

"You're _insane_, you stupid bugger! Who in the world are you, anyway?"

Now his smile dimmed, and his face took on a serious expression. He froze, with his hands raised, like he was approaching a startled animal.

"Sorry for scaring you like that," He started, taking one, incredibly small step towards me.

I stepped back from him, circling to the other side of the path.

"I'm not scared of you." I told him scathingly. "I know I don't need to be scared of you."

He nodded, both hands still raised, palms out towards me, and he too circled with that serious expression on his face. The wind whistled through the baring trees and the bright autumn sky suddenly dimmed with clouds.

"Thats good." He said slowly. "Thats very good. I don't want you to be scared of me."

We circled each other for a moment before pausing. He put his hands down but the serious expression remained. I was so confused at all his mood swings, at what was happening.

"What did you say your name was?" He asked, surprising me with the question.

I was startled. I didn't want to answer him. But words slipped out of my mouth like cold water, drenching me.

"Jane Smith."

That wasn't my name. I couldn't understand why I'd said it was. I didn't know anybody called Jane Smith, and Jane Smith was the most generic name I knew. Surely he would know I was lying?

Sure enough, he started to shake his head with an odd sort of chuckle.

"I know thats not your name, Katy."

"Well, it seems you already know my name, so can we just skip to the point as to why you're talking to me and— whilst you're at it— how you know my name?"

But before I could say anymore, or start backing out the house gate, somebody's arm was suddenly around me and a cloth was being pressed against my mouth, smothering me. The smell made the world start to fuzz and spin.

"What the hell do you think you're doing?" I heard the man yell and then he was kneeling down beside me, smoothing back my hair and making soothing noises at me.

"Shush, hush, Katy, its okay darling, I'll be here when you wake up, you're just coming home, thats all. Shush, darling, it's all going to be okay..."

And black.


End file.
